Golden Gate Park
- Address: Fell and Stanyan Streets, San Francisco
- Hours: Open daily. Closed (except for through traffic) 10pm - 6am
- Admission: Free
ATTRACTION Keywords:
Good Place to Relax,
Live Music,
Nature & Wildlife,
People Watching,
Picnic Spot,
Popular with Locals,
Park / Garden
When San Franciscans refer to "the park", there's only one that gets the definite article: Golden Gate Park. Everything San Franciscans hold dear is here: free spirits, free music, redwoods, Frisbee, protests, fine art, bonsai, and buffalo. Check out the range of attractions listed below, or just follow your bliss from east to west.
Start on the east end, where you pass the Conservatory of Flowers and the sheltered contemplative valley of the AIDS Memorial Grove. As you near the Academy of Sciences, pass by the Shakespeare Garden, featuring 150 plants mentioned in Shakespeare's writings. Nearby are the Japanese Tea Garden, the San Francisco Botanical Garden, and Strybing Arboretum. Head toward Martin Luther King Drive to pass the Polo Fields, where the 1967 Human Be-In took place and free concerts are still held in summer.
Outdoor activities abound here: an archery range, baseball and softball diamonds, fly-casting pools, a disc golf course, greens for lawn bowling, a horseshoe pitch, four soccer fields, and 21 tennis courts. But the big draw here for athletes are the miles of trails for biking, jogging and horse-riding through the park's natural splendors. Or maybe just pack a picnic basket and laze the day away under sunny San Francisco skies.
Latest Reviews
Review by Jeffrey J, April 2013
Doing what: California Academy of Sciences NightLife
Good place to go for a Thursday night with a difference planetarium was amazing as was the academy of science
Review by Ilene M, March 2013
Doing what: Skip the Line: California Academy of Sciences General Admission Ticket
First, if you can, get your tickets in advance. The day we got there the line to buy tickets was at least 10 minutes long, probably more. As for the Academy of Sciences, we were there for five hours and didn't finish. Don't miss the Planetarium show (sign up when you enter because it books fast), go on top of the roof, enter the biodome and don't forget to go downstairs to the Aquarium. I must say, it was quite a fantastic day of learning and beauty. Don't miss the gift store. Many cool things to be had there.
Review by Febe S, February 2013
Doing what: Skip the Line: California Academy of Sciences General Admission Ticket
Skip the line is the most convenient way to get access to the academy!!!
Practical Info
Detailed park maps are available at McLaren Lodge (Corner of Fell and Stanyan streets), at the eastern entrance of the park, under the splendid cypress that's the city's official tree. Saturdays, Sundays & holidays the park is closed to traffic along John F. Kennedy Drive.
